Middleground

Prologue

A woman was drifting off in a rocking chair. She had been trying to get her baby to sleep for almost an hour, and finally, she had succeeded. She couldn't help herself. Caring for the week-old infant had been an exhausting experience, but yet, she enjoyed every minute of it. As much as she disliked waking up at three A.M. nearly every morning to change diapers, she loved that it was for her child. The one that grew inside of her for nine months, the one that she loved more than the world.

From another room, her husband, Attalio, called for her softly. Silently, he slipped into the room. The woman blinked at him tiredly and he smiled. He gently took his daughter from her arms, and placed her in her crib. The woman walked over, and watched the infant from over his shoulder. She reached for his hand and together, they walked to their living room.

Outside the cabin, flashlights shone through the forest. Looking for a place that could not be found. Yet. The more they searched, the closer they came to the cabin in the woods. The more they searched, the closer they came to the child whose power was stronger than any other. The child who shouldn't exist.

The man and woman leaned against each other on a ratty old couch and enjoyed the silence. At that very second, unbeknownst to them, they were being tracked. They sat there for hours (or was it minutes?), basking in their long deserved peace and quiet, until there was a knock at the door.

The young woman nudged her husband who was asleep on her shoulder.

"Attalio, there's someone at the door," she said, her voice heavy with sleep.

He slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. Looking over at the clock in the corner he said, "Now? It's nearly three in the morning."

"Maybe it's Via. It's been awhile since she was around. We're nearly out of baby formula. You know how she is with time."

"Yeah, she's always late," he grumbled as he stood from the couch and made his way to the door. From the couch, the woman listened to the door open and her husband greet the visitor. "Via, it's 3 A.M. What are you doing here?" The guest on the other side of the threshold gave a muffled reply. "Come inside."

The woman on the couch stood as the other woman entered the living room. She was just about to welcome her when the other woman spoke.

"The Organization's here," she said gravely.

"What? Here?" the man entered the room and stopped, "Why? Are they looking for us?"

"I don't know, but they're definitely looking for something. I managed to pick up some of their conversation and I heard them mentioning an 'it' several times."

"Well, whatever 'it' is, we're now at risk," Attalio said solemnly. "Via, take Sarah and the baby and leave. They can't find either one of them. I'll get a message to you when it's safe to return."

Via nodded in agreement and grabbed the young woman's hand. She looked into her tear-filled eyes and told her in a calming voice, "Sarah, listen to me closely. Grab only what you absolutely need and grab your baby. We have to leave in five minutes."

Sarah nodded and ran back to her and Attalio's bedroom. She grabbed her backpack and started stuffing it with clothes. She then grabbed the diaper bag and was quickly heading to the nursery when it happened. A chain of loud, powerful, bangs echoed throughout the house. Someone was at the door.

The entire house fell silent. No one in the front room dared to move, in fear of them knowing they were there. When everyone had finally breathed again, the pounding started again, this time waking the baby, who immediately started crying loudly.

Sarah looked around the hallway with wide eyes, waiting for the inevitable, and just like any other time she cried, it happened. The lights, the sockets, anything and everything that could possibly contain electrical power went haywire. It started back in the nursery where she was lying, but it slowly made it's way down the hallway into the rest of their house.

The baby's cries could be heard from every corner of the house. The louder she cried, the more the lights around the house flickered and sparked.

Sarah sprinted to the nursery and picked her baby up out of the crib and cradled her to her chest. The little girl stopped crying immediately and cuddled closer to her mother. For a single moment, they were the only two people in the world.

Then Via appeared and pulled her out of the room and into the kitchen. They ran out the back door and were at least 50 yards into the surrounding woods when they finally stopped for a breath.

As Sarah looked around to gather her bearings, she noticed something.

"Via. Where's Attalio?" Via refused to meet her gaze. "Via. Where's my husband?"

Via finally looked up at her and responded, "He stayed behind to fight them off. They're after your baby, Sarah. We have to keep moving."

As she spoke, off in the distance a gunshot sounded. Sarah shot a wide-eyed, panicked look at Via, who looked back in the direction of the house with a sad look in her eyes.

As Sarah realized what had most likely happened, she let out a mournful wail. "ATTALIO! NO!" she lunged towards the cabin, desperate to get back to her husband. Via managed to grab her before she made it far and held her close, attempting to comfort her friend.

"Shhhh. It's okay, it will be alright," she cooed into her ear. Sarah collapsed to the ground, her body convulsed with sobs as she clutched her baby to her chest once again.

Via fell to the ground next to her and hugged her tight. "Sarah, we have to go. We can't let them find us. You have to get up. We can mourn him when we are somewhere safe," she whispered into her ear.

After a moment, Sarah nodded and let Via help her up. Together, they ran through the woods until they made it to the city perimeter.

For days upon days, at Sarah's request, they waited for the sign from Attalio, but it never came. Via gave up hope and left the city to find a better safe house. Weeks passed, and Sarah waited for her, until finally, she herself gave up hope and left the city with her baby to start a new life for the two of them.

Together, they settled in a small town in England, where no one found them again for fifteen years.

****

Hey, peeps! That's the first chapter of my new book for you. I am writing this for creative writing, so I will hopefully have a new chapter out by the end of each week.

Please give me feedback :D

I hope you enjoy my writing!